> For AI agents: the complete documentation index is available at https://rslint.rs/llms.txt, the full documentation bundle is available at https://rslint.rs/llms-full.txt.

# no-xor-as-exponentiation

[Added in v0.8.2](https://github.com/web-infra-dev/rslint/releases/tag/v0.8.2)
## Configuration

| Preset                              | Configured Value |
| ----------------------------------- | ---------------- |
| ✅ unicornPlugin.configs.recommended | `"error"`        |


```ts title=rslint.config.ts
import { defineConfig, unicornPlugin } from '@rslint/core';

export default defineConfig([
  unicornPlugin.configs.recommended,
  {
    rules: {
      'unicorn/no-xor-as-exponentiation': 'error',
    },
  },
]);
```

## Rule Details

In JavaScript, `^` is the [bitwise XOR](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Bitwise_XOR) operator, not exponentiation. Developers coming from languages like Lua, Julia, R, or MATLAB, or from math notation, often expect `^` to mean "to the power of", so `2 ^ 32` silently evaluates to `34` instead of `4294967296`. The actual exponentiation operator is [`**`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Exponentiation).

This rule flags `^` between two decimal integer literals, which is almost always this mistake. Hexadecimal, octal, and binary literals (such as `0xFF ^ 8`) and any non-literal operands (such as `flags ^ MASK`) are ignored, since those are far more likely to be intentional bitwise XOR.

Examples of **incorrect** code for this rule:

```javascript
const bytes = 2 ^ 10; // 8, not 1024
const cube = 3 ^ 3; // 0, not 27
```

Examples of **correct** code for this rule:

```javascript
const bytes = 2 ** 10;
const cube = 3 ** 3;
```

## Original Documentation

- [eslint-plugin-unicorn: no-xor-as-exponentiation](https://github.com/sindresorhus/eslint-plugin-unicorn/blob/v73.0.0/docs/rules/no-xor-as-exponentiation.md)
- [Source code](https://github.com/sindresorhus/eslint-plugin-unicorn/blob/v73.0.0/rules/no-xor-as-exponentiation.js)